Letters to the Rockville Centre Editor Oct. 28, 2010

McCarthy held her ground

To the Editor:

Most all of us still remember when Carolyn McCarthy’s husband was killed and her son badly wounded by a crazed gunmen on the LIRR. Instead of sinking into total despair, McCarthy, a nurse by profession, channeled her tragedy into a courageous campaign for stricter gun controls. Her anger became the catalyst that led her on a remarkable journey that ultimately resulted in her election to Congress (where she was named by Congressional Quarterly as one of its 50 most effective legislators).

When McCarthy appeared at our Democratic Club public meeting last week, we anticipated that members of the local Tea Party movement would attend and hoped that a serious engagement on a number of significant issues might take place. McCarthy, after all, is hardly a flaming radical; she has been a consistent voice of moderation, thus the perfect person to favor compromise and to bridge divisions.

Regrettably, this did not take place. The anger among her opponents was palpable, their rudeness unrestrained. She was, they shouted, “a liar.” She was accused of bankrupting America with her support of the new health care legislation and committing a cardinal sin by voting for an extension of unemployment benefits. “Government,” “taxes” and “deficits” were all denounced as ruinous threats to American society.

There are, indisputably, varying perspectives and beliefs on those and other matters. But to parse those differences was clearly not the intention of her adversaries. They were there to denounce, to ignore her efforts to respond and to defy all attempts to maintain a civil exchange. An opportunity was thus lost, and we are all the poorer for it. Nevertheless, in the face of their assault, Carolyn McCarthy maintained her calm and dignity. It was one of her finest moments.

Richard Skolnik

President, Democratic Club of Rockville Centre

Time for change in the 4th C.D.

To the Editor:

I just finished reading your endorsement of Carolyn McCarthy in the 4th Congressional District, and find your reasoning both flawed and with no basis.

The Herald writes that it believes she has been an “effective representative.” You also mention that she was elected on a “one-issue platform” that she has championed. I commend her for that, but what about other important decisions?

You mention that she “has been instrumental in helping young people of the district.” I find that curious, since she has a 0 percent positive rating by the American Family Association Political Action Committee. (By comparison, Rep. Peter King has an 83 percent positive rating.)

You mention that she has “bipartisan collegiality,” but what part of bipartisanship has she ever shown? Check out her voting record. When has she ever not voted with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the rest of the Democrat majority? She, of course, voted for “Obamacare.”

I need to know how to thank her for the 30 percent increase in my health care premium — now almost $800 a month. Do you think she will ever vote against the party line? I doubt it!

Remember that two years ago, the country voted for change, and we need a change here in the 4th. The time has come. We need someone who has the sense to do the right thing for us, not the party establishment.

You mention that McCarthy’s challenger, Fran Becker, is “a decent man and has proven to be a popular county legislator for as many years as McCarthy has been in Congress — we endorsed him for the Legislature...” You also say that his plan calls for “reducing spending, cutting taxes and extending tax cuts.” Gee, wouldn’t that be terrible — lower spending, less taxes and no tax increase. What am I missing here? If you take what you wrote in your own editorial, it would seem you endorsed the wrong person and should be endorsing Becker. He just seems like the correct choice for us now!

Brian J. Smith

Rockville Centre

What the heck was Skelos thinking?

To the Editor:

In the Oct. 7-13 issue of the Herald, you sought questions to asked the candidates who will stand for election on Tuesday. In the Oct. 14-20 issue you published a story about Sen. Dean Skelos and challenger George Sava, who are running for State Senate. The story moved me to ask this question of Senator Skelos: Are you kidding me?

Skelos says that he would work to end the dysfunction in Albany. This is from the engineer of a June 2009 attempted coup that brought the state Senate to a grinding halt for seven weeks, costing the taxpayers of New York millions of dollars in expenses, fees and overtime paid to state senators who would only meet for a minute or two at a time.

The Herald correctly asked a question about this of Skelos, but let him off the hook far too easily. What did Skelos do to halt government? He recruited two Democrats to switch to the Republican side, giving the Republicans a one-vote majority in the state Senate and returning himself to the position of Senate Majority leader. When one of the two recruits, Pedro Espada, jumped back to the Democrats, costly gridlock ensued.

And who are those two beacons of light that Skelos thought would be fine, upstanding additions to the Republican party? The aforementioned Espada, currently under investigation by the IRS and the New York state attorney general for his ties to a consulting firm that is believed to be a shell for fraud and money laundering, and Hiram Monserrate, who was later removed from office as a result of a conviction for domestic abuse of his girlfriend. Neither of these “gentlemen” was returned to office by their constituents.

So I ask the Herald to follow up its questioning of Skelos by asking the following: What the heck were you thinking?

Marc Wieman

Rockville Centre

Let Curran restore the Empire State

To the Editor:

As a homeowner and a resident of Rockville Centre, I have seen neighbors and friends make the painful decision to move south because the taxes in New York state are simply too high. They cannot afford to pay for the mismanagement of our state by Albany politicians.

Over the past 10 years, approximately 2 million people have fled New York state. I have one message for Albany: Enough is enough. The residents of this once great state can no longer afford the reckless spending and high taxes.

We need a new voice in Albany that will demand less spending and lower taxes. That person, in my opinion, is Brian Curran. As mayor of Lynbrook, Curran decreased the size of village government. He reduced village spending. Finally, he did something that all elected officials promise but never deliver on — he actually cut taxes for every home and every business in Lynbrook.

I encourage everyone to support Brian Curran for the State Assembly 14th District seat so we can return New York to the Empire State.

Jeffrey R. Schoen

Rockville Centre

His letter got results

To the Editor:

Letters to the editor do get results. A few weeks ago, I complained about the misleading labeling of the parking meters along Sunrise Highway (“Village meters mislead parkers,” Sept. 2-8). Today — Oct. 20 — to my delight, I found changed and non-misleading labels on the meters. Thank you, Mayor Mary Bossart, and your board of trustees.

Paul Keller

Rockville Centre